Measure Me
by Miss Hanamura
Summary: "Some days, Inaba feels like the stage of a movie set." — drabble series. Implied Yosuke/Saki, one-sided Yosuke/female!OC.
1. Confession

**A/N: You may or may not recognize this from Return of the Midnight Channel. Think of this as the more poetic, third person view *rolls* Also different ending for the win?**

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_Who would have known that after hunting you down_

_She would leave all the bones for me?_

_And who would have thought that she could leave someone like you?_

_She left a part of herself_

"Umm, I... Thank you for coming..."

She hangs her head, just low enough—hopefully enough—so that red curls cover her face, cover the equally red blush staining her cheeks. He watches her chest heave up, and down as she takes in careful breaths; her skirt crinkles underneath clenched fingers. She's practiced these lines a thousand times. She needs to get this right.

They know where this is going.

His lips part to speak, but she cuts him off before he can.

"W-Wait, before you say anything...!" He turns back around, and she feels her breath catch in her throat. He was beautiful, from his disheveled brown locks—he'd constantly smooth them down, but no matter what, they'd stay the same—to his slightly lanky, scrawny body that she's studied in battle, and that smile... The same one he's been faking for months. The one she can see pass. Every inch of him was perfection to her. "I... I-I haven't been completely honest with you..." Grey eyes drift to the ground, and he swallows. His mouth has gone dry.

_You know how I speak, how I try to imitate the way_

_She lay her head on your shoulder_

_When you've got nothing more to say_

_Down to every detail, I won't miss a day_

She's acting shy, twiddling her fingers, biting her lip. A nervous laugh bubbles up her throat, but it comes out wrong. Comes out _forced_. She tries again, takes a deep breath. It was so hard to find her voice around him, "L-Look, I'm just gonna come out, and say it... I love you."

"W-What...?" He blinks once, twice. Shakes his head to clear it, but it's a jumbled mess inside. Can't believe what he just heard, and thinks this is some sort of joke. He's always been the butt of jokes; there was no way he heard her right. "Rin... I—"

"I know you loved Saki-san," He flinches at the name—at the word _loved_; he still did, didn't he?—but she keeps going, daring to meet his gaze. He avoids hers, "And... A-And I know you must be hurting inside, but please! You're all I ever think about...!" Her throat tightens, and she feels tears threaten to spill with each second that passes; each second spent in stunned silence, "Touching you, kissing you... Just being near you drives me insane! I... I want to be with you, Yosuke! ... Please... Give me a chance!"

_'Cause I know all her lines, her favorite things_

_And how her restless mind keeps her up in the night_

_Until the light will come, I'll stand here trying to catch her eyes_

He doesn't say anything for awhile—the waiting drives her crazy. His bottom lip trembles, and he whispers, "I can't..."

"...Yosuke-kun?"

He crashes to his knees, his headphones clatter—sobs threaten to claim his body, but he swallows it down. Had to keep in control. She would never be her. She could never be her because there was no one _like_ her. She tried to understand, to hold him, console him, but it wasn't the same. He knew what he wanted.

And it wasn't her.

It'd _never_ be _her_.

She's spent so long trapped in other people's shadows. Would she ever be able to measure up?

He repeats himself; the itensity of his gaze sends her reeling back. "I'm sorry, I... I just _can't_." Love you. He looks up, sees her body stiffen, hand fly to her mouth.

She runs away, runs until she can't see him, or anything anymore.

_You're perfection._


	2. Her

**A/N: I was really thrilled with the feedback this recieved, so I wanted to continue this! Unlike the first chapter, this is more of a deeper look of the relationship between my character, and Yosuke. It's written in his point of view this time, too. I hope you enjoy!**

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He found it hard to avoid her. She was always there. At work, at school... The image of her crying—it hurt even more knowing _he_ was the cause of it—kept him up at night. She used to come over a lot for study sessions (they never really got much studying done, he realizes, mostly played video games—he always let her win at them, if only to see her beaming with joy, and point at the screen, "Yosuke-kun, look! I did it!"—and he'd rant about the latest thing Teddie, or the part-timers at Junes did in between). Not now, though. There was a wall between them, a wall he couldn't break no matter what he did. He'd offer her a tiny smile in the morning, but she'd looked through him; her grey eyes seemed so dead. The thing he might've missed the most was their conversations.

She was different from Yu, because he felt that she was in the same boat he was. It was easy for Yu to feed into his depression, offer words of comfort, but he could never empathize. She knew what it was like to be starved for attention (for recognition, for affection—"Look at me, all I want is someone I can call my _own._"), and she'd do anything she could in order to keep people around (that's what her Shadow said, after all). For once in his life, Yosuke felt a strange connection, an identification. Somewhere along the way, he started staring at her eyes, instead of staring at her chest. She wasn't just a girl to him anymore; she was his best friend.

They did everything together; they were practically joined at the hip. They ate lunch together, sat next to each other in class (they stopped passing notes, because the embarrassment of having to read them in front of the class was too much for her), and some nights, he'd call her up when he couldn't sleep. It felt so weird to be this close to anyone (a few times, he woke up to see her in bed next to him, promptly freaked out, and was both disappointed, and relieved to see they were still clothed). He saw so much of himself in her. She attracted disaster no matter where she went, and never had a clue where she was going. She'd always score just a few points above him in exams ("Passable's still passing, right?"), and tried to make the best out of everything. She also beat herself up over the little things, and cried when she thought no one was listening.

But he was.

His parents loved her—his mother did, anyway, because apart from work, she didn't have many female friends to dote on; he remembers one time at dinner, his father asked about the latest shipment, to which Erin visibly paled at. She was a lot clumsier than he was. Sure, he's crashed his bike once or twice (yes, only _twice_), but at least he didn't trip on himself (not often), or drop any of Junes' merchandise. It was usually when he was around, and she'd flush, and stammer, and apologize repeatedly until he assured her it was fine. Honestly, he found it kind of cute. She tended to overreact. I mean, how much does a bottle of ponzu sauce really cost his dad, right?

But he knows how much her job as a cashier means to her (because she's saving up for her own place after graduation) so he takes the rep for it everytime (and sometimes Ted, but the bear deserves it, he tells himself). At first, he's not sure why he does it, or why he cares so much, but it might be because she's the first girl to look at him without rolling her eyes in disgust. The first girl to actually _laugh _at his jokes, and get flustered when he teases her ("You're so cute when you blush, Rin-chan~"). The first girl to hold his head in her lap, and console him while he cries. The first girl to care about him since...

_Her_. And no matter what he did (no matter what she did), it'd always come back to her, didn't it?

So, maybe that's why he does it. Maybe that's why he liked spending time with her, because she reminded him so much of the girl who left him behind (left him in this shithole). Down the road, she fell in love, and he hated himself for not feeling the same way.

Yes, he loved her (heck, he might've loved her even more than his parents; it wasn't like they were ever there for him), but there was still this hole in his heart. In his chest. Time was supposed to heal all wounds, but they never said how long it'd take. When he closes his eyes, he can see them together later on, but for now... He still had to sort some things out. And he wishes he had told her this (how much he really cared, because he's always been bad at expressing his feelings), and wishes she had said something sooner (and if she did, how did he miss it?).

What could he do to fix this?


	3. Clouds

**A/N: I was bored, and had Yosuke on my brain... Terrible, I know *slapped* I had to do something about it. Anyway, this was inspired by a rp between myself, and SuperNova23. I'm thinking this is more of a filler chapter, or maybe a flashback—I'll leave it up to you to decide~**

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Some days, Inaba feels like the stage of a movie set (if that's the case, then she must be an extra). It's almost unreal that she's here (in love), apart of a murder investigation. In a town she used to be sick of.

But behind the scenes—when she can be alone with him like this, laying in the grass talking about the future; when they're just two ordinary teenagers without a care in the world—she falls apart. Because no matter how close they get, the only thing they'll ever be is _friends_. And she isn't sure how much longer she can keep up with this act, pretend everything is fine when it clearly isn't (inside her head).

She settles against him, fingers curling into the hair at his nape, a radiant smile spread across her face. This is the only place she feels free anymore. Even though the sun was about to set (the Samegawa river sparkles like wine), it was warm enough for them to wear their summer attire—she's dressed in a light blue spaghetti-strap shirt, and black shorts, and he wears a white v-neck, and red pants.

For that moment, her heart hammers in her chest (heat rises to her cheeks), the beats slowly melting, melding in time with his. His free hand laces around her own (soft music pours out from the headphones around his neck—a slow song she doesn't recognize. She makes a mental note to raid his CD collection the next time she's over—but it's mostly played for background noise). They're both aware of how close they are, but neither say a thing.

Erin speaks after a long stretch of silence, eyelashes fluttering like tiny butterflies, "It's kinda funny... Before I met you, I... I hated this town." Her smile wanes slightly (she notices too late that her hold on him has tightened, shoulders have involuntarily tensed); he's rubbing in soothing circles across her skin with his thumb, "It was just a bitter reminder that I was stuck here, and Airi-san... Well, _wasn't_." She swallows, "But you were so nice, showing me around when I moved here...You became my best friend, a-and I..."

_Love you._

"—I'm so glad to have known you." It's not wanted she wanted to say, but decides it's close enough.

Yosuke laughs, but it's a hollow sound (he wishes he had rehearsed this). His eyes meet hers for the first time that day—murky brown and cloudy grey. His voice is thoughtful against the breeze that floats by. "I hated it here at first too... Heh, I guess Inaba's an acquired taste~?" She manages a small smile in reply, but it's just not the same. "I'm glad you came here, and... That you're here now." It's not a confession (not even close), but it fills her with the hope that maybe (someday) they can work.

They look back up at the sky, making up shapes from the clouds.

"Yeah... So am I..."

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**This story has no plot anymore.**


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